Mississippi State’s Title Hopes Rest With Browne, Hobbled Davis
By ROB GLOSTER
AP Sports Writer
Wichita State’s Bruce Swan, Mississippi State’s Marquis Davis and Tennessee’s Sean Lambert.
Wichita State’s Bruce Swan, Mississippi State’s Marquis Davis and Tennessee’s Sean Lambert. (AP)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Mississippi State’s outside chance of winning its first NCAA track and field national championship rests on the feet of sprinting buddies Pierre Browne and Marquis Davis.
Now, after Wednesday’s first round of the 100 meters, that ever-slimmer chance depends specifically on Davis’ aching left Achilles’ tendon.
Browne and Davis are among the favorites in the 100 and 200. They’ll also run the last two legs of the Bulldogs’ 400-meter relay team.
While Browne breezed to a win in his 100 heat in 10.57 seconds Wednesday, Davis struggled to third place in his heat – though he also ran 10.57. And Davis pulled up as he crossed the finish line, in obvious pain.
“It’s been bothering me all season. Right now, I can hardly lift on it,” Davis said. “After every race it gets worse and worse.”
Mississippi State’s hope of winning the team title depends on getting lots of points in the sprints. That means Davis has to run through the pain with little time to rest – the first round of the relay and the semifinals of the 100 were set for Wednesday evening.
Arkansas is the team to beat in the men’s competition. The Razorbacks won the indoor title in March, and distance runners Daniel Lincoln and Alistair Craig are the keys to Arkansas’ bid to capture its first outdoor championship since a string of eight straight titles ended in 1999.
Auburn also is a top men’s contender. Tennessee’s chances faded when prerace favorite Marc Sylvester, fighting tonsillitis, failed to qualify in the 800 after finishing last in his preliminary heat.
“My team knew what I was up against. It’s a huge blow, I hate to do this to my team, but stuff happens,” Sylvester said.
LSU is considered the favorite among the women, with Texas, defending champion South Carolina and UCLA among the challengers.
Aleen Bailey of South Carolina was fastest in the morning round of the women’s 100 in 11.45, while LSU’s Muna Lee ran 11.48.
But South Carolina is missing Lashinda Demus, the defending 400-meter champion, who was suspended from the squad last month for a violation of team rules.
And UCLA’s Chaniqua Ross, the defending champion in the discus, fouled on two of her three throws and finished 14th in the qualifying round – failing to advance to the final.
Wednesday’s competition was crammed with 12 hours of preliminaries as the record field of 1,088 was trimmed. The meet is being held at Sacramento State, site of next year’s U.S. Olympic trials.
The meet is the first since the NCAA scrapped its old qualifying standards in most events and went to regional qualifying meets. The result is the largest gathering of athletes for an NCAA national championship.
The big field means a second round of qualifying in the 100, 200, 400 and both hurdles.
“Mentally, it’s a little stressful, because you have to go through the same routine over and over,” Browne said after the morning round of the 100. “Now I’ll just go to the hotel and rest.”